


why do you smile when he cries? (why do you cry when he wins?)

by VITRI0L



Series: the branches of time are withering [10]
Category: DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Caregiver!Tubbo, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Little!tommyinnit, Manipulative Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Non-Sexual Age Play, Not Beta Read, Pandora’s Vault, Personas not people, Prison, agere, sam centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 06:15:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29621865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VITRI0L/pseuds/VITRI0L
Summary: Tommy just wanted closure. But, he doesn’t get the things he wants, now does he?•••”The panic clawing up his throat turned into burning rage. The fire started from under his ribs, smoldering his entire being in a hellish inferno.Tommy was pissed.”•••Spoilers for TommyInnit’s 02/21/2021 stream
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Sam | Awesamdude & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: the branches of time are withering [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120232
Comments: 23
Kudos: 462





	1. l. Prison

**Author's Note:**

> if you’re DD/LG or anything of that nature, do not interact. don’t be weirdchamp 🤠👍
> 
> title: domestic bliss - glass animals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Prison is an unforgiving place.

“SAM!”

“He’s not _here,_ Tommy! He can’t hear you!”

Tommy felt like his whole world was thrown off its axis, rapidly flying through the endless void of inky space. He was too far from the sun, gravity couldn’t save him now.

_Of course._

It was the only thought running through his mind as he stared at the wall of orange lava, glowing strangely. Of course this would happen to him. Of course the first and only time the prison suffers a security threat is when he’s in the prison with Dream. 

Of course Sam had better things to do than look out for a whiny teenager who couldn’t get his emotions in line.

The panic clawing up his throat turned into burning rage. The fire started from under his ribs, smoldering his entire being in a hellish inferno. 

Tommy was pissed.

 _You’re useless,_ a bitter voice snapped.

 _No,_ he protested, albeit, weakly, _I— I can’t... not now—_

So he turned that rage outward.

Tommy rounded on the masked man in an orange jumpsuit (same orange as the beautiful lava behind him), snarling.

“You had something to do with this,” he whispered, dangerously calm.

The older man scoffed.

“How would I know what’s going on?” he asked sarcastically, “I’ve been locked up in prison, how would I know about the TNT, hmmm?”

Tommy stepped closer.

“I... I just wanted CLOSURE!”

And he shoved Dream.

The man nearly stumbled into the corrupted obsidian wall behind him. Tommy found himself wishing that the other had cracked his head open upon the “sturdy” wall.

“Tommy,” Dream tried again, with a honeyed tone that Tommy knew all too well, “We can bond ok? You could be in here up to a week, let’s not fight. You’re one your last life.”

“Don’t tell me what I already fucking know,” the teen snapped, setting his jaw furiously.

“So, let’s just be friends, like old times! Like... exile.”

Tommy felt his heart seize at the word, fire burning brighter. 

_How **dare** he?_

“Fuck off, mate,” he practically growled, “Don’t talk to me about exile. Fuckin’ psychopath.”

“You’re going to be here for a week, Tommy.”

The teen shook his head.

He refused to believe Dream. 

_Dream’s a manipulator._

_Dream’s a liar._

_Dream thinks this a game._

_Dream’s never been your friend._

_Never._

Why did that thought hurt so bad? Tommy bit the inside of his cheek, tasting iron sting his tongue. 

“I just want closure,” he whispered once more to himself, turning away from the man further in the grim cell.

The lava really was beautiful.

Tommy just sat before it, close enough to feel the heat radiating from the liquid. It felt so... familiar.

He’d already burned the books that Dream had handed him.

The older man made a shuffling noise, but other than that, he no longer attempt to speak to the teen.

It hit Tommy then.

_I really am alone._

•••

Tommy didn’t sleep at night. There was no way in hell, even if it froze over, that he would trust Dream not to fucking kill him while he was weak. This was the man who blew up L’Manburg just cause.

The teen had merely watched the lava wall, hoping to see any sign of Sam.

Nothing.

But, there was also no more sounds of explosions.

 _I don’t like the way TNT makes me feel_ , he told himself in his sleep addled mind.

Tommy didn’t know if Dream slept at all.

What he did know was that the man rolled potatoes towards him once the clicking of the dispenser could be heard. Tommy did nothing to stop the ones that rolled too far.

The sizzle as they were destroyed by the fiery liquid was kinda nice.

“How are you?” Dream asked at some point.

“Piss off,” Tommy replied, voice cracking.

“Tommy...”

“Shut the fuck up. You fucking traumatized me, I can’t go near open fields now because of you! Don’t fucking tell me what to do, prick,” he shouted back.

That made the older man shut up for a bit.

Tommy ate a potato when his stomach ached so bad it felt like there was a hole straight through his middle.

It tasted like cardboard.

The teen still held some hope, though it was severely dampened from his time spent with his abuser. Sam was nice to him outside the prison, he helped Tommy build the Big Innit Hotel, well Sam Nook did. But, still, when he wasn’t in the depressing prison, the half creeper hybrid was cool.

Tommy wanted to trust him.

So when Dream told him,

“No one’s coming.”

And he replied,

“Sam’ll come.”

The older man laughed. The noise sent shiver down the teen’s spine, making him want to curl away from the noise.

Tommy refused to show Dream he was weak.

He wasn’t weak.

_Yes, you are._

_Shut up._

“Fine, call out to him,” Dream drawled, “See what happens.”

The teen felt something catch upon his broken heart harshly, like it was trying to rip it straight from his chest.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep.

Maybe it was the delirium.

Because, Sam’s name got caught in his throat.

Instead, he called for someone else before he could stop himself.

“PHIL!”

•••

Tommy threw away Dream’s thank you notes on the third day. The prisoner yelled in protest, telling him to stop. He didn’t and the books burned instantly in the flow of lava.

 _That’ll teach him to throw away my books when I tell him to write shit,_ he thought proudly.

He didn’t sleep again.

Or at least, not voluntarily.

There were parts of the previous night (or what he thought was the night) that were missing from his memory bank. Tommy wasn’t sure if everything was blending together because it was so boring or if his body was knocking itself out to stay alive.

The thought,

_Being dead is much better than this._

...suddenly became more frequent.

It didn’t worry Tommy though.

He’d thought that many times before.

Dream stopped trying to talk to him, which was a good thing. Tommy didn’t want to speak to that man, even if it meant keeping him tethered to normalcy. Tethered to sanity. He didn’t want to go through that again.

_“Armor in the hole, Tommy.”_

The teen shuddered.

All his emotions had jumbled into a giant ball in his mushy mind, become inseparable from each other. With everything slipping away from him, Tommy found himself fight a warm fog trying to creep into his mind.

He wanted comfort.

 _Dream will just manipulate you the second you slip,_ a soft voice told him, _You can’t trust him._

So, Tommy ran a blacked and grimy hand through his wet hair, doing his best to stay big.

He thought about how gross he most definitely looked, the slime from the crying obsidian tangling into his messy hair and caking itself under his fingernails.

His icy eyes would have lost so much color.

Tommy felt tears well in his eyes as the fog turned stormy and gray, rather than the welcoming soft and white that it usually was.

 _I don’t want to look like this again_ , he whimpered, _I don’t want to remember._

The teen must have made some kind of noise out loud because a too loud voice spoke up.

“Tommy?” Dream asked, sounding vaguely worried.

 _Faker,_ Tommy told himself, _He’ll never change, don’t trust him. He has proven that with this prison lockdown stunt he pulled._

Tommy just hugged his knees closer to his chest, resting his heavy head against his jeans.

He didn’t mean to fall asleep.

The cosmos was just so empty.

•••

Tommy woke one the fourth day to a familiar click. He shot to his feet, nearly falling over with how stiff his joints had become. He caught himself though, swaying with how dizzy standing up made him.

“Fuck,” Dream swore from behind him. Tommy looked to the man and almost didn’t notice that netherite barrier...

“It’s up,” Tommy said, unsure if his hoarse voice was working.

He can’t see Dream’s expression, but he could have sworn he felt the scalding heat from those hidden eyes.

“Looks like the prison security issue is fixed,” he replied, sounding casual.

Like it meant nothing to him.

Tommy felt joy explode through him. It hurt, it was violent, frantic, even. The teen felt himself gasp for air, the stuff in the prison suddenly way too warm. 

Sure enough, the faint noise of gurgling lava could be heard.

_It’s draining!_

It was the first coherent though he’d had in hours.

A panic was mixed in with his joy. The joy was sweet and brilliant, lifting up his too thin frame as he waited for the lava to drain. 

The panic was bitter, like thorns. It made him desperate and impatient. It made him suddenly remember what life was like outside of the prison.

Tommy’s mind grew hazy.

_Hurry!_

It was the only word he knew at that moment.

The orange glow was suddenly gone.

Tommy could see the other side of the now empty ocean.

A tall figure stood in the entryway, netherite armor glimmer softly amongst the darkness of the blackstone.

The mechanic click of the bridge moving across the gap was the only thing Tommy could focus on.

Tommy was so exhausted.

His body gave out the second his tattered sneakers stood upon the stone brick platform.

At least the stone was cool against the burns that ran along his hands. It was also nice against his cheek, which Tommy was sure he burnt from how close he sat to the lava barrier.

He didn’t have the power to fight that gentle headspace that beckoned him.

Tommy was safe now.

So, when he felt strong hands grab him as softly as they could, practically dragging him from the no longer moving platform and when he heard that familiar call out to him, Tommy sighed.

_Sam._

_Sam Nook._

_Awesamdude._

_The Warden, Sam._

Not matter which one this was, Tommy hoped he could trust the man to protect him. 

He dropped straight into the fuzzy clouds that had been taunting his mind for days. 

“Sammie... tha’ you...?” 

••• 

When Sam watched Tommy drop face first onto the moving bridge, he wanted to shout. Fear gripped his heart and his mind raced. The hybrid cursed the slow inching of the bridge, suddenly feeling like it would never reach the other side of the gap. 

Sam wanted to be sick when the platform finally slotted back into its normal place and the teen made no move to get up. 

_What the fuck happened in there?_

He punched the button near him, dropping the lava instantly. He would deal with Dream later, right now Tommy was his main priority. 

Sam crouched immediately, grabbing the teen by his shoulders. 

He was so much lighter than usual. 

“Tommy, Tommy, wake up,” he said, attempting to keep as level headed as he could, “Tommy, are you ok?” 

Panic tore through his heart. 

Sam rolled the teen gently, carefully sitting the blond up. Tommy moved so easily, like he was a corpse. The hybrid felt his chest clench furiously at the thought, a familiar hiss slipping into his words. 

“Tommy, please... wake up, kid.” 

_“You’re one of my best friends outside the prison, Sam. You helped me on my hotel... well, that was Sam Nook, but, y’know what I mean.”_

_Not right now,_ he pleaded desperately. 

“Sammie... tha’ you...?” 

Tommy’s voice was so hoarse. 

_He was probably screaming for you. Trapped in that cell with Dream. He told you he wanted closure. You saw his messages. You ignored them._

Sam felt tears slip down his cheeks, unwanted. 

Tommy sounded so tiny. 

“Fuck, I’m— I’ve screwed up,” he said aloud, “Shit... I—“ 

The teen sitting up in his grip made a tiny whimper, followed by a string of nonsensical words. 

Sam pulled the teen into his embrace. 

He picked the burnt and grimy kid up like a baby, pressing him close to his chest. 

The urge to explode was wound around his heart like a coil of wire. Gunpowder sizzled softly under his chestplate and deep inside the place where his shredded up heart sat. 

Sam took a deep breath. 

He wasn’t going to risk taking Tommy’s life just because he had poor control of his emotions. 

_I’m going to find out who caused the explosion,_ he promised, _And I’m going to destroy them._

_I owe Tommy as much._

••• 

Sam tridented back to his base, muttering reassurances and kind words to the teen wrapped in his embrace. Tommy would squirm or mumble incoherently in response and the hybrid didn’t know if the words were for him or the frightened teen. 

He ran into his house quickly as the giant door shut behind them with a loud boom. The noise only made Tommy pressed his face into the crook of Sam’s neck as he made distressed noises. 

“Shhh,” Sam hissed gently, patting the back of Tommy’s dirty shirt in hopes of calming the younger down. 

It seemed to work when the blond hummed into the material of the sweater he wore beneath his chestplate. 

Fran came padding softly out from on of the rooms along the long hallway of his base. Her ears fell when she saw Sam searching through chests, Tommy still hugging him like a koala. 

“Hey, Fran,” the hybrid whispered gently, “He’ll be ok, girlie.” 

She whimpered lightly as she joined him, loyally waiting by his side. 

“Found it,” he exclaimed softly, pulling out a sleeping bag from the double chest. 

Sam threw it haphazardly to the ground, only able to use one hand. His other arm was locked firmly around Tommy’s middle, keeping him from tumbling to the ground and out of the hybrid’s grasp. 

The blond whined as Sam crouched, kneeling gently beside the sleeping bag. 

“It’s okay, Tommy,” the hybrid told the distressed kid, “Would you like to lay down?” 

He felt a gentle nod. 

Sam cradled the back of Tommy’s head with his free hand like he was an infant. The hybrid was sure that the teen would have some chose words for him once everything was over. 

He safely lowered the younger onto the thick fabric of the sleeping bag. 

Tommy’s navy eyes were barely open as Sam sat back, giving the other space to get comfortable. 

He rolled to his side and was out immediately. The hybrid frowned, but Fran took this as her opportunity. She immediately curled up in the space between the kid’s elbows and knees. Tommy was cradled in a loose fetal position as Fran fit herself against his gross shirt. 

She laid her face into her paws. 

Sam watched them for a few moments. 

He stood quietly, pulling out his communicator. 

_Come to my base. It’s about Tommy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took so long ;-;


	2. ll. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is a home but a house where those you care for are?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no sleep sunday WOOOO

Puffy and Tubbo practically sprinted through his door as soon as it opened. Tubbo, in particular, barely waited enough for the door to sink all the way to the floor, running to where Sam sat.

“I got your message,” he said, words running together, “What the fuck happened.”

His brown eyes were bright, frantically searching Sam’s expression.

Puffy jogged up behind the brunet, white hair windswept and cool eyes full of worry.

Sam felt guilt stab him through the heart, spilling his emotions everywhere. It spilled across the floor for all to see, and the hybrid was too shattered to hide them away again. He gestured to the sleeping forms beside him.

“Why the fuck is he so... caked in grim?!”

The hybrid wasn’t used to hearing Tubbo swear so much. The words sounded to harsh to be used by someone so genuinely _good._

_A sweet and funny kid, concerned more with his friends that he was himself._

_A former child soldier, broken by war and constant conflict who was suddenly obsessed with drastic measures to feel the slightest bit safe._

_How where they the same person?_

“Sam, what happened,” Puffy spoke up, voice soft.

He wouldn’t cry.

He didn’t deserve to.

“There— it was an accident,” Sam began, forcing the words out, “But, someone attacked the prison with TNT while Tommy was visiting Dream... it was a security threat—“

Puffy pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes wide.

Tubbo rounded on him, fury radiating from him. It was venomous, it was vitriolic and it was a look Sam wished he never had to see on the younger. It was the look of someone much older than Tubbo was. 

_He shouldn’t know how to hate so truly_ , Sam lamented.

“What are you saying, Sam?” the brunet asked, icy glazing his words.

“Tubbo...” Puffy began, but Sam sighed.

“He was in the cell for four days.”

There.

_Is that what you want? ~~(Forgive me.)~~_

The two of them looked like they’d been hit by a train. Puffy looked like she was going to run back to the prison and demand answers from her son. Tubbo’s expression went blank for a moment.

He leapt and jumped at the hybrid, movements swift and precise.

“Tubbo, don’t!” Puffy suddenly exclaimed.

Sam made no more to protect himself.

He deserve this.

He failed the loneliest kid on the server, with no one to count on but himself.

Tommy feared that everyone would hurt him one day. Sam saw it in the way he spoke so confidently and casually to everyone around him. Didn’t matter how much you pissed someone off if they were just going to leave you too.

_“You’re my friend, Sam.”_

“Bo?” a small voice asked.

Tubbo froze in place, one hand stretched forward to grab Sam’s collar. The fury in his eyes was gone instantly as he turned to look at the direction of the voice.

Tommy was awake now. He sat up, rubbing his eyes with his injured and dirty hands. Fran was also awake, watching the teen carefully from where she still laid.

The brunet was beside his best friend, eyes full of concern as he gently took a hold of the blond’s wrists. He pulled Tommy’s hands from his face.

“Hey, bubba, you’re hands are all dirty.”

The blond whined.

“They hurtin’”

The was something childish to the way Tommy spoke that threw Sam for a loop. This wasn’t the Tommy he’d gotten to know, the one who spoke too loud and swore too much. This Tommy sounded so... small.

Sam glanced to Puffy, who didn’t seemed to be as lost as he was. Her face was sorrowful and fierce as she looked at the two boys.

“How old are you?” Tubbo asked softly.

Tommy held up three fingers.

Sam blinked, surprised. He could see Puffy’s widened eyes from the corner of his vision.

“Aw, are you the smallest baby boy,” the brunet cooed.

“No ‘m big,” Tommy protested.

Tubbo chuckled.

“Let’s get you all cleaned up, huh?”

“All slimy!” the blond exclaimed with a pout.

“Where’s your bathroom?” Tubbo asked, turning to Sam.

His voice was cold.

“All the way at the end, to the right,” Sam replied simply.

“C’mon, kiddo.”

To his credit, Tubbo managed to pick up the regressed teen with ease, carrying him bridal style down the long hall. Sam watched them go, feel worse.

“I didn’t know Tommy regressed,” he said softly.

“Me neither,” Puffy confessed, “But, with all he’s gone through I’m really not that shocked either.”

Sam buried his face into his hands, unable to stop the tears the pushed forward. He didn’t think it was possible for him to feel more guilty than he already did, but the emotion threatened to drown him.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up, Sam,” he heard his friend say.

“I just— I failed him, Puffy,” he replied, voice breaking.

He looked up to her, vision swimming. She looked conflicted.

“He signed the waivers right?” Puffy asked, quickly tacking on, “Not that I’m saying that it was his fault, it wasn’t at all. Just, he must have known?”

“He said... he said he only kinda remembered from the first time. I still let him go in.”

Puffy sighed.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Four days, Puffy,” Sam said, tasting the harsh bite of saline, “He said he wanted closure. He got four days in a cell instead.”

Puffy said nothing more, merely sitting down beside him. She leaned her head against his shoulder, hair ticking the base of his neck. She just let him cry until he ran out of tears. 

Then they waited, sitting in silence.

•••

Tommy woke up with a familiar fog wrapped around his mind. It was odd, not matter what, he always woke up big. Though, considering the events of the past four days, Tommy figured he just didn’t have the energy to pull himself out of littlespace.

It was fine because he enjoyed the warmth than surrounded him as he cracked his eyes open.

He quickly noticed that he was held in an all too familiar embrace.

Big, brown eyes were watching him, the pallid and gentle face of his best friend close to his own. Tommy felt a sleepy grin break out across his face as Tubbo smiled softly back.

“Bo!” he exclaimed excitedly.

The brunet giggled, brushing a strand of golden hair out of his eyes.

“Hey there, Toms,” Tubbo said, “How old are you, buddy?”

“Five!”

“You’re so big!”

Tommy giggled, squirming from his caregiver’s grasp as he sat up.

There was something furry laying by his feet.

“Bo, look! Puppy,” he gasped excitedly.

“That’s Fran,” a deep voice said from beside them.

The dog poked her head up at the sound of her name.

Tommy glanced over his shoulder to see two adults sitting close together. Sam gave him a wobbly smile while Puffy hummed a soft tune under her breath.

“Sammie, is... F’an your puppy?”

“She is,” he replied.

Tommy hummed, surprising not afraid of those acidic green eyes and the gas mask the hybrid wore.

_Why be scared? Sam’s my friend!_

The little clapped, proud that he could remember the dog’s name. The rustling of the material beneath him altered the blond that Tubbo was sitting up too.

“Do you like Fran, baby boy?” the brunet asked gently.

“Yeah!”

Fran wagged her tail as he smiled at her.

“Do you want to pet her?” 

Tommy looked to Sam, shaking his head.

“Too shy, Toms?” Tubbo questioned understandingly.

He nodded.

The brunet smiled brightly, ruffling his hair. The little whined, trying to push his caregiver’s hands away when he noticed the gaze on his palms.

“Why?” he asked.

“To stop the hurting,” Tubbo told him.

“Thank you!”

He embraced his best friend tightly.

Tubbo seemed to beam as he hugged Tommy back.

There was a broken laugh from behind them.

Tommy let go of Tubbo, the brunet doing the same. He spun around to look at Sam and Puffy, frowning when he did so. 

The tall man was hunched over, looking smaller than Tommy remembered. His bright eyes looked so upset, but that didn’t make sense? 

Tommy pushed himself to his wobbly feet, crossing the chilly floor to sit in front of his friend. 

_My pyjama’s are too big_ , he thought briefly as the bottom of the already rolled up pants dragged around his feet.

“Why you cryin’?”

“I’m worried about you.”

The blond made an ‘o’ shape with his mouth, understanding. Sam was the boss of the big building where Dr— **he** was. He’d visited there when he was big.

“‘S okay,” Tommy said truthfully, “I didn’t like it, but you got me out!”

He clumsily reached forward, brushing away some of the tears running down Sam’s face.

“Tommy—“

Sam seemed to choke on his words.

“You’re my friend!” he explained.

The hybrid blinked, seeming confused.

“You helped me, no reason to cry,” Tommy tried to explain further.

“You forgive him, Toms?” Tubbo whispered.

“Mmmhmm!” he hummed, waving the now teary eyed brunet over, “C’mere please!”

He got a gentle laugh.

“Well since you used your manners so nicely.”

Tubbo sat beside Tommy, like he was afraid the blond would disappear if he let him stray too far way.

“Hug?” Tommy asked them.

He was enveloped in a warm group hug that made him buzz with happiness. The three people around him were protecting him, shielding him from the rest of the world. 

They held him close.

Tommy felt them pull him back to reality. The tiny lights of the stars, infinitesimal and insignificant, suddenly felt bright again, lighting his path.

_‘m not alone... not really._

•••

Sam was broken.

But in the embrace of Puffy, Tubbo and Tommy, he was held together. 

Put back in place back the people he cared the most about.

He didn’t forgive himself for what had happened.

And he was sure he would never be able to and Tubbo most definitely felt the same.

But, they could make it past this.

They’d all be ok.

No matter how broken or how betrayed they were.

_As long as we have each other._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👉👈😳
> 
> hope you enjoyed <333


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